Are You Missing Having Fun with Disney Park Characters?

by Beth Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

July 5, 2020

With the Florida, Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai Parks reopening with limited character interactions under COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, you might be missing giving Mickey a hug or dancing with Goofy at Chef Mickey’s. (That’s a double whammy….No buffets and no character close-ups right now!) Enchanting interactions with the characters are what make waiting in meet-and-greet lines for an hour worth the wait (or make paying astronomical prices for mediocre buffet food worth the investment of time and money)!

If you need a quick shot of characters doing silly stuff with actual humans, check out this short (six minutes or so) compilation of character exchanges with Gijs Van Winkelhof. We’ve featured Gijs on this site before. He’s the extraordinary, self-taught piano player from the Netherlands who performs at the Disneyland Hotel in Disneyland Paris. (See our DisneyBizJournal review of his performances here.)

Gijs offers us a peek at his shows at Café Fantasia in Paris, with a half dozen Disney characters who randomly pop in to visit. The Fab Five unexpectedly show up at various times to try to steal the show, and a few even attempt to play the piano with Gijs. There’s a fair amount of dancing going on as well, with characters visiting with guests in the lobby of the Disneyland Hotel while Gijs keeps the music going. Among the songs featured are “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Mickey Mouse Club March,” “Part of Your World” (The Little Mermaid), and “A Whole New World” (Aladdin), while Tigger and Goofy, Mickey and Minnie, Donald and Pluto do what they do best. Goofy especially has a good time with “Jingle Bells.” 

Sadly, this is as close as we may get to a character interaction for the time being!  Disney has promised character appearances in the park, but from what we’ve seen in the already-opened parks, these character sightings are being done in creative ways to allow guests to see their favs, while still keeping the “stars” at a protective distance for both families’ and cast members’ safety.

Thanks to Gijs for sharing these guest videos of his piano performances with his Disney buddies. Hopefully, it will tide you over while you wait for your own chance to interact with the Disney crew.

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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.